Cautious? or Overprotected?

A headline in the Nashua Telegraph last fall proclaimed: “School Yard Game of Tag Banned.” This caught my attention! What was the harm in this playground game? The principal stated that “the game of tag seems innocent enough, however the force with which students tag varies greatly and this game, in particular, has been banned in many schools in the U.S. due primarily to concerns about injuries.”  This wasn’t the only headline like this in recent news. A school in Long Island banned balls from the playground this past fall, and you can read similar examples from other towns across America. Have these decisions gone too far? Some parents thought so.

Children's play has long been understood to have a key role in the development of their future life skills. Real play, when children are in charge, instinctively making hundreds of decisions as they assess and determine the levels of risk they want to take—physically, emotionally and socially—allow mastery, day by day, in an increasing repertoire of skills which add to their bank of experience.

What had changed so much since my own childhood of climbing to the top of the monkey bars and playing king of the hill? Modern fears and anxiety, in a world much safer than ever before, has led to a risk-adverse culture that can express itself in what some perceive as overbearing safety policies. What’s forgotten are the benefits of learning about and discovering risk. Fears of litigation increase tendencies to err on the side of caution, often creating standards that lack real play value.

Through play, children acquire confidence, but also an awareness of limits and boundaries. They learn, in short, how to be safe. For our children, we must remove the bubble wrap of overprotectiveness and grant them the opportunity to play in ways that challenge themselves.

So, to my own children, who have much loved the opportunity to climb trees, cross creeks, and climb as high as they are comfortable, I pledge to continue giving you the opportunity to challenge yourself, for it is only through your own experiences and choices that you will truly learn the skills for this game of life.

We want to hear from you! What do you think about playground risk?

Read the Atlantic Monthly article here: The Overprotected Kid

Kari

One Hundred Word Stories

For this week's writing project, our middle school students were asked to write a 100 Word Story. We're sharing a few here.

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She is dreaming. Dreaming of flying with the birds. She swoops through the clouds, graceful and swift. She sees the city below her, but only the sky above. Endless, blank sky. She drops through the clouds so she can see the land more clearly. There are buildings, small as anthills and cars, like ants, dodging between them. And there is the ocean! Deep, empty, never ending, just like the sky. She flies towards it. There are boats and a few small islands, but so much of the ocean is empty, quiet and beautiful. Then she is falling, falling towards the sea. . . .  -HMS 7th grade student

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I am a snowflake, beautiful, crystalline. I am a snowflake, carefully constructed. We are packed tight, but we know. We know that any minute one of us will fall from this cloud, from each other. I have never been a snowflake before. I have been shower water and a puddle and flower nutrients, and even holy water that has been blessed and scented. Snowflakes begin to fall. There are less and less of us separating me from open air. My first fall. I detach from the others and I am alone, falling, drifting, gliding down to an uncertain future.  -HMS 7th grade student

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Eyes open to the crashing chirps of the clock. Weary days, waking, breakfast, work, money, winter; stumbling in and out of the bathroom, closet, chair, out of his house. Doors slam. The man trudges to work. Weighing and boxing paper clips, sitting for minutes, hours, days, and dreary years. 100 clips. 180 boxes. 9 hours. 162,000 clips. He trudges home, buying a hot cocoa. On the curb, a girl in a poncho stares at the puddle and paper cup at her feet, dog sitting by; guilty. Minutes later the man opens his front door, no cocoa in hand, smile flickering.  -HMS 9th grade student

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One hundred words. That seems like a lot of words, but it only come out as about a paragraph, which isn't very much. I hear one hundred and naturally think "big". In the right context, one hundred is a big number, but really, when compared to even greater numbers, such as one million, its size pales in comparison, and comes off looking quite small. So, when you think of the huge amounts of words in a story, the one hundred words in a paragraph don't even come close to seeming a significant part of the story. Not even.  -HMS 8th grade student

Springing to Life

Landscape Designer's rendering of the Children's House area.

With today’s snow, we have to remind ourselves that spring will arrive eventually and the children will soon find themselves enjoying a much different outdoor environment. In addition to warmer temperatures and spring flowers, the children will also see the HMS outdoor environment come to life. 

During the fall and winter months, we worked with a landscape designer to design a “natural playground.” Attention has been given to plants and structures that will complement our already beautiful natural setting. Among sunflowers and butterfly bushes, the younger children will enjoy a natural sandbox, low balance beams, bird houses and raised garden beds. In addition to the soccer field, our older children will find boulders to scramble upon, tree stumps to jump on, larger garden beds, and a climbing tower with a zip line. A centrally located natural outdoor amphitheater will offer a unique space for gathering.

All of this is possible through the effort and generosity of our families. The majority of the funding for the outdoor environment was raised last year at our Spring Gala and Silent Auction — a fun evening of dinner, dancing, and bidding on auction items. It will be gratifying to see the outdoor environment come to life, and it will serve as a reminder of each family’s participation in this annual fundraising event.

This year the Spring Gala will be held on March 22nd. All proceeds will benefit the newly created HMS Annual Fund. If you are interested in participating, either by donating or attending, please contact Karen in the front office. 

Think Spring!